Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew”: Can there be a Happy Ending?

William Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” summary, introduction, and analysis lecture with Dr. Daniel Larson, Associate Professor of Literature. Introduction to Shakespearean Comedy. *TRIGGER WARNING* This video talks about domestic abuse (and I get a little angry) Gaslighting, isolation, control, “chattels”—Petruccio is a jerk! It’s really hard to read Taming of the Shrew as a light-hearted rom com. In fact, the play was very unpopular for most of its life—until the 20th century. In the last 100 years, this text has seen numerous productions and adaptations (more than a good number of Shakespeare's other comedies). Why is that? What is it about his play that recommends itself to a contemporary audience? Why are we the era most interested in it? In this lecture, I dive into the history surrounding some of the most uncomfortable scenes represented in this play: drawing from the work of literary scholar Linda Boose, I show that it’s all actually much worse than you think! Finally, I’ll try to figure out what is going on with the strange (and often ignored) “Induction” and Christopher Sly—who might just be the key to all of this. This video was originally part of a synchronous on-line course in Spring 2021 (during the COVID 19 pandemic). At the time, I had posted all of these lectures set to “private,” linked in an on-line forum with discussion questions and additional content; I’ve decided to make the video lectures public and share them now. Why? Who knows. I will include relevant handouts, discussion questions, and additional links in the description below—feel free to carry the conversation on in the comments! Also, if you’re interested in this kind of thing, let me know! TIME CODES: 0:00 Plot Summary 2:40 Petruccio and Katerina 3:50 A mixed reception 4:33 The Literary Critics 7:09 The Historical Context 9:14 The Scold's Bridle 11:13 The "ideal" reader 13:07 Christopher Sly 15:20 Conclusion Questions for discussion: This play feels very different from the other comedies we've read. In what ways does this play participate in or complicate the conventions we've studied so far? What do we gain through these specific conventions in this text? I mention in the lecture John Fletcher's "sequel" The Woman's Prize: The Tamer Tamed--Shakespeare's contemporaries seemed to think there needed to be more to the story (Fletcher was one of the members of The King's Men--Shakespeare's acting company--the two were friends and collaborators). My main point on this text is that it purposefully resists closure at the end. How would you conclude this play, if you were to write your own sequel a la Fletcher? I spend most of my time considering Petruccio--but there is another figure i this text that may deserve even more scorn: Baptista. This text has a lot to say about husbands and wives--but what does it say about fathers? How do you read this character and his role in the play? Additional Resources: Linda Boose, “Scolding Brides and Bridling Scolds: Taming the Woman’s Unruly Member,” Shakespeare Quarterly 42.1 (Summer 1991): pp. 179-213 https://academic.oup.com/sq/article-a... Frances Dolan, “Household Chastisements: Gender, Authority, and ‘Domestic Violence,’” Renaissance Culture and the Everyday, eds Patricia Fumerton and Simon Hunt. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014: pp.204-225 https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/edited_vo... Harold Bloom, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, Riverhead Books, New York, 1998. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo... National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or online https://www.thehotline.org/?utm_sourc... #Shakespeare #tamingoftheshrew #summary #literaryanalysis #lecture